Does anyone conceal carry their single actions?
- Thread starter TheGent
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1911Tuner
Moderator Emeritus
Out here in the sticks/around the homestead or for a trot down to the country store, I carry a New Vaquero .45 tucked into the front waistband at a shallow angle crossdraw style.
As for reloading...feh. I figger that if I'm alive long enough to fire six rounds, I'll have all the time in the world to reload.
As for reloading...feh. I figger that if I'm alive long enough to fire six rounds, I'll have all the time in the world to reload.
ironhead7544
Member
For a 44 Mag/Spl a 44 Dessert Eagle mag will work for a kind of quick reload.
aryfrosty
Member
Yep
Mine is a stainless Vaquero Birdshead .45C in Mernickle leather. As for reloading "slow is smooth and smooth is fast." Or like the person said above..."carry another gun..."
Mine is a stainless Vaquero Birdshead .45C in Mernickle leather. As for reloading "slow is smooth and smooth is fast." Or like the person said above..."carry another gun..."
I don't have one (yet) but I like the looks of the Ted Blocker CC1 holster
http://www.tedblockerholsters.com/product.cfm?pi=5C89D10E-0FB8-C3D9-74D157928572DFB9
for my Vaquero 4 3/4". I have a right shoulder problem and prefer cross-draw carry. I am hoping I will get this holster for Valentine's Day...
http://www.tedblockerholsters.com/product.cfm?pi=5C89D10E-0FB8-C3D9-74D157928572DFB9
for my Vaquero 4 3/4". I have a right shoulder problem and prefer cross-draw carry. I am hoping I will get this holster for Valentine's Day...
fcthompson
Member
Yes. My Colt Commander .45, when in my jeans front pocket barely sticks out about 1". I can fix that with a jacket hanging over the butt.
dogngun
Member
I used to occasionally carry one in an IWB holster meant for
something else that I cut down to let the front sight come free easily...I carried 4 and whatever barreled versions, one in .357 magnum and later Ruger old Vaquero in .45 ACP.
If you are very familiar with a SA revolver and can really shoot if accurately, go for it.
Only 5 fast shots, but if you do it well, you won't need more unless you are in a war.
mark
something else that I cut down to let the front sight come free easily...I carried 4 and whatever barreled versions, one in .357 magnum and later Ruger old Vaquero in .45 ACP.
If you are very familiar with a SA revolver and can really shoot if accurately, go for it.
Only 5 fast shots, but if you do it well, you won't need more unless you are in a war.
mark
shane justice
Member
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A gentleman I used to work with, has been handling SA handguns his whole life. He also was an active SAAS member for a number of years.
I would not count him out in any armed encounter he was faced with while he is carrying a SA handgun.
The point being competence and skill become the deciding factor. If you have trained. I am not talking aobut plinking at beer bottles every so often. I am talking aobut serious handgun training which involves lots and lots of reloading drills. (BTW-this is the same advice I give to anybody regardless of the kind of firearm they want to use.)
If one undertakes the work seriously, he become serious. Then the tool becomes inconsequential.
But for God's sake, purchase a good piece of leather from a reputable holster maker. Wearing crap makes you a BIG target for the BAD GUYS looking for a free gun. And they won't come one at a time. They will box you in and get your weapon regardless of your competence level.
Please guys, I hope that you realize while carrying a concealed handgun the handgun has to be absolutely concealed. NO printing, no tells or bunny rubs.
All this will do is telegraph what you are and what you have.
OK I am done preaching.
Shane
I would not count him out in any armed encounter he was faced with while he is carrying a SA handgun.
The point being competence and skill become the deciding factor. If you have trained. I am not talking aobut plinking at beer bottles every so often. I am talking aobut serious handgun training which involves lots and lots of reloading drills. (BTW-this is the same advice I give to anybody regardless of the kind of firearm they want to use.)
If one undertakes the work seriously, he become serious. Then the tool becomes inconsequential.
But for God's sake, purchase a good piece of leather from a reputable holster maker. Wearing crap makes you a BIG target for the BAD GUYS looking for a free gun. And they won't come one at a time. They will box you in and get your weapon regardless of your competence level.
Please guys, I hope that you realize while carrying a concealed handgun the handgun has to be absolutely concealed. NO printing, no tells or bunny rubs.
All this will do is telegraph what you are and what you have.
OK I am done preaching.
Shane
CraigC
Sixgun Nut
Great post, Shane!
ExMachina
Member
is the question really what gun-type you can shoot best, or whether or not you can shoot a particular type well? i know that a lot of SASS shooters are really good with a single action, but i would bet that most of them could put more rounds on target faster with a DA-revolver or a semi-auto. in fact, isn't the desire to exclude the advantage afforded by modern guns a primary reason why the SASS started?
it seems like the decision really boils down to how at risk you feel you are. law enforcement and military in the line of fire don't pick a SA revolver (i'm sure someone will find an exception), and even the iconic General Patton who carried revolvers more for show than for combat, hedged his bets with the DA S&W.
don't get me wrong--i really like the idea of carrying around a hogleg and i'm sure most of us would never be UNDER-gunned w/ a SA sixgun. however, i know that i would be "better-gunned" with something else, and that makes the decision a very easy one for me.
it seems like the decision really boils down to how at risk you feel you are. law enforcement and military in the line of fire don't pick a SA revolver (i'm sure someone will find an exception), and even the iconic General Patton who carried revolvers more for show than for combat, hedged his bets with the DA S&W.
don't get me wrong--i really like the idea of carrying around a hogleg and i'm sure most of us would never be UNDER-gunned w/ a SA sixgun. however, i know that i would be "better-gunned" with something else, and that makes the decision a very easy one for me.
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CraigC
Sixgun Nut
You really put that little importance on familiarity with a specific platform? I'm sure I could dribble more bullets out the barrel with a Glock but that does not indicate proficiency. IMHO, skill with your particular weapon is FAR more important than the weapon's type.
ExMachina
Member
well, we could conduct an experiment: go to an SASS even an have all competetors shoot the pistol stages with both their stock gun and then again with a semi-auto. my bet (and yes, i am only speculating) is that the time averages for the semi-autos--even in the hands of these very proficient single action shooters--will be better.
swcr
Member
I love SA revolvers but have always open carried them while hunting or working. My everyday carry gun is a S&W M60. That being said I did have a request from a customer last month for a high ride pancake holster with thumb break for his 4 5/8" Blackhawk. This is what I came up with.
CraigC
Sixgun Nut
I wholeheartedly disagree. Proficiency is the key and you are completely disregarding it in favor of platform. By your logic, proficiency with one handgun is proficiency with all and it just doesn't work that way. That's why we train with one specific firearm or at least one particular platform, to build skill with that platform. I'm a perfect example of this. For years, I was limited to public ranges and could only go every so often. So when I went, I took several guns and shot them all a little. For the most part, I was mostly just making noise. I found that by focusing on one gun or platform at a time but shooting it several times a week and with deliberation, my skill with that platform increased exponentially. By your logic I could spend a year shooting strictly 1911's and then pick up a Glock and shoot and manipulate it just as well. It's simply not true.
Not to even mention that the single action revolver is unlike any other. It has its own feel and its own set of challenges to operate with any speed and/or proficiency. It is folly to believe that proficiency with the single action will directly translate to anything else, let alone an automatic.
I know a few people who have had experience of being shot at, and shooting back - that might agree with you, so far as single action revolvers being a practical weapon.
But only for the first five (maybe six) shots. After that....
Perhaps that's why only one of them carried a thumb-buster as a regular CCW choice. Now for other less dangerous purposes... well that's different.
Take the Texas Rangers for example. As late as the tail-end 1950's a few still carried Colt Single Actions - mostly for show, but 1911 Government Model pistols and .38/44 S&W Heavy Duty revolvers were more common by then, ocasionally carried in pairs. Today the Old Colt's are just for show. This after all is the 21st Century.
But only for the first five (maybe six) shots. After that....
Perhaps that's why only one of them carried a thumb-buster as a regular CCW choice. Now for other less dangerous purposes... well that's different.
Take the Texas Rangers for example. As late as the tail-end 1950's a few still carried Colt Single Actions - mostly for show, but 1911 Government Model pistols and .38/44 S&W Heavy Duty revolvers were more common by then, ocasionally carried in pairs. Today the Old Colt's are just for show. This after all is the 21st Century.
Snubshooter
Member
Both Gunsite and Thunder Ranch have classes for CCW of single action revolvers. They developed these classes to create modern answers to old tech. I've watched people go through the live fire house with single actions using the "new ,old" doctrines, It can be done, is it the BEST choice ? I don't think so, But if it's what you have then use it. Practice alot and be REALLY proficiant with whatever weapon you carry.
I am very proficient with my single action revolver because I practice regularly with a lot of rounds downrange. But I also practice with my carry guns. My single action expertise would suffice in some situations (home defense for example) but if I need to get a lot of bullets accurately on a target right now, I would not choose my old single action favorite.
goodtime
Member
I can't speak for exMachina, but what I get from his posts is that he is asserting that, if apples are compared to apples, and oranges to oranges, the bottom feeders would provide a more formidable weapon to any given person if he trains with it. Of course, if a shooter practices to be a wizard with a single action revolver, like many shooters have done, he is a force to be reconed with. But, I think the point made above, with which I agree, is that if that same shooter, instead, trained with the same decication using a semiauto, he would be better armed in more situations than he would be as a shooter dedicated to single action revolver shooting.
Despite this, as I posted, I have, at times and places, opted to carry a single action revolver instead of my usual semiauto.
Despite this, as I posted, I have, at times and places, opted to carry a single action revolver instead of my usual semiauto.
ExMachina
Member
that's a fair summary. if a person is indeed a wizard w/ a SA then they'd be a fool to rely on anything else.
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CraigC
Sixgun Nut
That pretty much goes without saying. My point is that there are those of us who have no desire to do as much shooting with what some would deem a more appropriate self defense weapon as we do our single actions. One very good reason is that the single action revolver can do it all. From plinking to long range shooting, woods bummin', hunting, self defense, etc. A Glock is a self defense weapon and nothing more. It's not a target pistol, it does not lend itself well to accurate shooting at longer ranges, it is not a hunting weapon and is no good for defense against anything bigger or meaner than a coyote or gangsta. So the question is, would I rather use something I am intimately familiar with or something that I am vaguely familiar with? Or practice with something that is nothing but a soulless tool? I think I know the answer. I'd rather tote a whoopin' than spend the amount of time I spend with single actions, with polymer autos.
However, they is not what ExMachina is saying. Or at least that is not what I gleaned from his posts. He is proposing that handing a veteran single action shooter an unfamiliar semi-automatic will result in better scores. He is dead wrong. Unless we're talking about slingshots, you are ALWAYS better off with a weapon you are intimately familiar with and can shoot, manipulate and reload without thinking.
dbriannelson
Member
Once in awhile I carry this Forkin .44 with the 3 5/8" barrel on my right hip. It conceals nicely under a winter coat. But mostly I carry J-Frames or a Walther PPS.
-Don
goodtime
Member
Well said, CraigC. I agree the single action revolver has a lot of soul, which the Glock is sorely lacking. That might be why I carry my single action revolver under the right circumstances, even though I'm no wizard with it. That's also why I referred to semiautos with the pejorative term "bottom feeders." I love single action revolvers. I own only two Glocks, one for duty, and one for off-duty, but I own several single action revolvers. The guns on my wish list are single action revolvers, too. I'm not sure I've even posted on this site under the Semiauto heading.
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